By Blood Are We Saved
by Lugosi
Summary: A COTC 7 FIC! What, excatly, happened that day that Abel and his generation of children killed themselves? They don't really give him much of a background in the movie, so here it is! Brought to you, via moi... Enjoy!
1. Before

You might call it a Prologue...  
  
**I**t was two months before it all happened... it was the day it began.  
Dalila was a troubled girl... she loved vampires and everything dark like that; a Lady of the Dark World. The people in the town labeled her Goth... Though, last time she checked she wasn't a cereal box. Some said she was a witch, but she wasn't... that was to be expected in a Nebraskan town...  
But her troubles went deeper then that... so much deeper.  
Dalila was sixteen, pale, short, with light brown eyes, (very short) red-ish brown-ish hair, and what she calls Princess Lips.  
She was a better listener then talker, and disliked everything to do with churches and religion... although she knew a whole lot about them.  
She seemed to, even, have some sort of phobia, fear, of churches... that was why Gabby, her best friend, never dragged her to church on Sundays.  
But this day... this day, they had to take Gabby's little brother, Abel, for their parents were feeling unwell.  
Dalila clutched the notebook she always carried with her tight to her chest - so tight, her knuckles turned white - as she store upon the tall, white, old building.  
Something strange had her heart in an ice cold grip... fear kicking in strong, a lump of dread rose in her throat.  
She knew she was having a premonition... but she didn't believe it.  
**G**abby walked Abel up the steps while Dalila kept a good four or five or six yards away from the building. Gabby wasn't at all dress for church; she was going to hang out with her best friend, as she did almost every (day) Sunday, instead.  
They had only agreed to take Abel.  
Abel turned back to face his sister, cringing in the bright golden sun light of the warm, cloudless day. His blonde hair blowing delicately in the wind... he looked like their Mother and Gabby looked like their Father.  
"Thank you, Gabrielle." He whispered.  
"Huh?" A puzzled look filled Gabby's face. "Since when do you call me Gabrielle?"  
Abel was the first one to ever call Gabby _"Gabby"_. It had been the third word he had ever said and become the official name of his older sister ever since. What was this change?  
"Since now..." He paused. Gabby stilled remained puzzled. "A lot of thing are about to change, Gabrielle. Make sure you're ready for them."  
And with his warning spoken, he turned and entered the church... leaving Gabby behind and baffled.  
**D**alila still felt the lump in her throat... it wouldn't go away. Terrible things... terrible things were going to happen, she knew it. Terrible things that could only end terribly.  
Everything would be destroyed!  
Or was she just panicking?  
Finally, it seemed the conversation between brother and sister ended as Abel entered the church... Suddenly, Dalila knew a lot of these "terrible" things were centered around him.  
Gabby tilted her chin up and looked around at the bright day for a long moment... then, straightened her grey shirt, brushed off her blue jeans, and began back towards Dalila.  
"Dal," Gabby called as she approached. "Are you alright? You look like you're going to be sick."  
"Perhaps I am," Dalila realized, then, how tightly she was clutching the notebook and loosened her grip as much as she could stand. "Something's going to change, Gabby."  
Gabby's heart rose up into her throat. First Abel, now Dalila... telling her this... what did it mean?  
"Something awful is going to happen..."  
"Dalila," Gabby put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Calm down... you're just freaking out. Nothing is going to happen... nothing, you hear me? _Nothing_."  
"No!" Suddenly, Dalila realized there were tears in her eyes. She forced them back. "Thing are going to change, Gabs... terrible things." Gabby shook her head, but Dalila went own: "Just make sure you're ready for them..."


	2. That Day

_Behold! The Nightmare_ presents...  
  
_By Blood Are We Saved_  
  
by _Lain Coddington_  
  
Disclaimer: _I DO NOT own Hattie, Abel, Children of the Corn, He Who Walks Behind the Rows, ect., ect. You all know who does. Dalila is owned by Eshia Nasdiana. Gabby belongs to me._

  


Morning-  
** G**abrielle jerked, to sit, straight up in bed.  
She took in gasp after gasp of breath... covered in a cold sweat. Her vivid dark blue eyes jerked from corner to corner of the room. Some of her hair fell in her face... it was straight-ish, with a little curl. Dark, dull, dark brown, and not at all stringy... quite thick, actually.  
She brushed it away and felt her forehead to see if she had a fever... she didn't.  
_ What the Hell?_, she wondered in a some-what annoyed fashion, _It was only a dream... it was only a dream...  
So why do I still feel like doom?_  
She slowly sunk back into bed, store straight up at the ceiling, and brushed all of her dark hair from the pale flawless skin of her face. She took ridiculous care of her skin... a strange hobby, you might say.  
_ What time is it?_, she whined in her thought and turned her head to look at the clock on her nightstand. The bright green numbers glowing read 5:21 a.m.  
Gabby moaned and threw her legs over the side of her bed, forcing herself up. It wasn't the best time to be awake but she knew she couldn't go back to sleep... that dream... the tent, the fire, the screams, that smell... the smell of burning flesh.  
Stumbling into the bathroom, Gabby held onto the sink and gazed in the mirror. Her dark blue eyes looked like they were ready to kill. She grabbed up a hair band and began to pull her hair back.  
She had hair like Heather Langenkamp... but she liked it, still. Every morning she pulled it back into a low pony tale, which was the best hair style on both of 'em, siffin' you ask Gab.  
She rolled her eyes and smiled at her own silly self in the mirror... with an up-turned pug nose, pouty peach lips, and perfect skin, she was beautiful.  
Glancing at the tons of make-up she kept beside the sink, she knew she didn't really need it but put some on, anyway: a nearly microscopic layer of black liquid eye liner and some clear lip gloss and called that good.  
Gabby was less then a year (nine months) older then her younger brother, Abel. At fourteen, two years younger then, Dalila felt her worthy of the title "sister"... which wasn't so far away considering Dalila's parents didn't really give much of a fuck about her, which was why she spent most of her time with Gabby and Gabby's family (Brother, Mother, and Father).  
Gabby felt sistered, too.  
Yawning, she began towards the door and walked slowly down the hall back to her room, where she shuffled through her dresser until she found what she desired to ware: a burgundy fitted tee with black lining around the ends of the short sleeves and the collar with a black heart on the breast, a bite taken out of the upper left corner, and an average pair of dark, worn, blue jeans.  
Quickly throwing on her sneakers and lacing them out, she slipped out the door and bounced down the stairs... but at the bottom, she stop short.  
"Abel!"  
Abel was up at this hour? And fully dressed... as if preparing to leave the house... Gabby's parents didn't mind what she did; but they worshiped Abel! They babied him, even at thirteen... they'd never let him leave the house before they were awake... as specially without knowing exactly where he was going.  
"What are you doin'?" She ran a hand nervously over her pony tail... why did her little brother make her so nervous, now, when they used to be so close..?  
"Preparing, Gabrielle," he answered. Ever since that day two months before, he always called her Gabrielle... he had changed. He had changed a lot.  
He would never call her Gabby again.  
"Preparing?" Awkwardly said Gabby, straightening herself out. "For what?"  
"Today is the day, my dear," He seemed to fight back the smile that curled the corners of his mouth. "The day it is finished... for better or for worst; I know not... so saith the Lord."  
Gabby sighed and wrinkled her eye brows... Abel had been talking like that for all that time, too.  
Like he thought he was a religious prophet, or something.  
"Today, what is finished?"  
Abel's face remained cold... he blinked, as if it should be obvious, but answered anyway. "Everything."  
Gabby's heart seemed to thud pointedly in her chest... the word echoed in her mind... _Everything, everything, everything_.  
Abel turned, his movements flowing, and began towards the door... as he reached for the knob, Gabby called: -  
"Wait... you can't go!" Abel half way turned to look at her, a dully amused expression cursed him. "Mom and Dad would kill if you left like that..."  
Abel smirked. "I know longer need their permission to do _anything_, my sister."  
He turned back towards the door, but stopped... and then looked upon her again. "Oh, and, by the way... it is not them who shall do the killing."  
Then he left.  
Gabby's heart did jumping jacks... What did he mean? _What did he mean_? What did it ALL mean?  
If only she knew...  
  
Afternoon-  
** G**abby told Dalila what had happened.  
She had no choice, there was no one else she could turn to... plus, Dalila had been there on that day Abel changed. So she told Dalila everything.  
At least she could trust one person in this world...  
They spent all morning together; just talking, hanging around, and, were now, taking a walk.  
Town seemed smaller to Gabby, somehow. The corn field seemed as if it had grown a million times and were now big enough to take the town by storm and overcome it, swallow it up into the corn so there'd be more room.  
But that was silly... a truly silly thought. Corn was not sinister; corn was a plant, a food. A good thing, actually.  
Not a town-eater.  
But anyway; walking through town, a small grocery store loomed up a head along with its fenced in yard. Gabby cringed, she knew who would be there.  
The store, actually, didn't face the road but faced to the side, instead. Behind the store, there was a large empty yard, fenced in by chain link fence. Most of the local boys chose to play foot ball and such back there... the store owners didn't mind.  
As the girls approached, they made every attempt not to look and to pretend as if they did not acknowledge the existence of the boys but it was of no use.  
"Hey, Creeper," Jacob called. He always called Gabby _Creep_ or _ Creeper_ or something of that nature. They were no friends.  
Jacob was, at seventeen, one year older then Dalila and three years older then Gabby. Tall, with dark brown hair that always hangs in his blue/green eyes and cheek bones that stick out _way_ too much, he was not really attractive at all. Such a typical hick, Gab always said.  
The girls stopped and turned to face him. Gabby took a few steps forward, right up into the opened door of the chain link fence.  
"What?" She hissed.  
"You better get your crazy ass brother in a straight jacket." Jacob laughed as if he had said the funniest damn thing ever. His little buddies chuckled along, too, dumbly.  
Gabby and Dalila were not amused.  
"You stay away from my brother," Gabby tried to make it sound like as much of a threat as humanly possible.  
"Don't worry, I will!" He laughed again... good God, he was stupid! "But seriously... you're brother is an even bigger creep then you are. Do you know what he's doin'? What he's done to all them other kid?"  
"What are you talking about?"  
"He's gone crazy, Creeper... and he's bringing those other kids down with him."  
"Shut up!" Gabby barked. "Just shut up! Don't you dare talk about my brother that way!"  
"I think I'll talk about him any way I want," Jacob challenged.  
A few more nasty comments were exchanged before it broke out into an actual fight... a fist fight.  
Gabby knocked him square in the jaw, but Jake came back around and hit her so hard in the eye brow it knocked her to the ground, on her back, with a dark bruise and a long, jagid cut already forming. But Gabby forced herself back up and trashed at him.  
"No! Stop!" Dalila cried... but she dare not interfere. "Stop, Gabby! Stop!"  
They weren't listening... besides, Jacob's buddies were all cheering on the fight... but it would only take minutes for store personnel to notice the commotion.  
Employees of the grocery store came out and pushed through the crowd, come to break up the fight. It took three to pull Jacob off and only one and a half for Gabby. Though they continued to beckon nasty comments back and forth until they were too far away to talk to each other anymore.  
Dalila grabbed Gabby's hand and pulled her away from the scene. "Come on, let's go."  
Gabby flashed a vial look at Jacob, spat, and then turned back and walked away with Dalila.  
  
** G**abby finished redoing her pony tail.  
Dalila dabbed at Gab's eye brow again... the injury was on the outer (rightist) side of her right eye brow. It was a nasty bruise; pink and red and burgundy and blue and purple, with a jagid bloody red cut a crossed it. Dalila was dabbing it (with a wash cloth with stuff on it) to keep it from swelling up the size of a fist.  
They were sitting by a creek... a small creek, hidden somewhere by old, fallen down buildings and dried out old trees. They had reason to believe no one else knew about it besides them... but they could be wrong.  
"Gabby, you gotta stop fighting with him," Dalila whispered.  
"I didn't start it... Jake-"  
"Jacob," Dalila interrupted... an incredibly rare occurrence. "Is three years older then you and a guy... let's face it, Gabs, the odds are against you."  
Gabby pouted and snorted a huff... she looked funny when she made a face like that.  
After a long time of silence between the girls, Dalila set a side the cloth, deciding that Gabby's face was good now and no longer going to swell, and stood up.  
"Where you goin'?" Gabby asked, watching her friend prepare to leave.  
"I have to do something," Dalila said, brushing off her clothes. "I have to go for a while... I just have to, please understand that."  
Gabby nodded, without words, and watched a smile slowly spread on Dalila's face.  
"I'll see you soon," Dalila said, and bounced off and away.  
  
** T**he church seemed bigger then it had, that day, two months ago.  
It loomed in front of Dalila, like a giant monster preparing to have her for a lovely dinner.  
Dalila swallowed hard, trying to force down the fear that made her heart run wild and moved up to choke her throat. She had to do this... she had to find out what it was.  
Abel had been right - Dalila could feel it - something was going to happen today... something big... something bad.  
The church held the answers.  
Dalila truly believed that... she could feel it in the grounds, in the air around it, it's aura... the church had the answers; all she needed was the courage to face them.  
Slowly, she took her first step towards the church. Then another, and another. And soon, she was walking up to it. Extending her hand to touch the banister beside the three steps leading to the front porch and the two large doors.  
Soon, her fingers rapped around the door knobs.  
Taking a deep breath; she summoned all that was inside her... and pushed open the doors.  
They flew open with ease. Dalila stepped inside, and pushed through the inner doors, giving way to the real church part... cloaked in shadows, it was.  
Swallowing hard again, Dalila's eyes traced over the large area... it was just like any other church, with benches and white walls and carpeted floors and an alter at the end. Just like any other church.  
But that didn't change the fact that Dalila still didn't like it... she didn't like _any_ church.  
Slowly, slowly, she began down the isle... the isle inbetween the benches. The alter was calling her... beckoning her with a hallow hum... beckoning her with no words.  
Slowly, slowly, she stepped up to it... approaching it.  
There it was... now what?  
She razed her hand and forced a calming sigh through her princess lips... it didn't help; but it was still worth the try. Slowly, she lowered her hands to touch the alter... and gasped.  
Upon impact; images flooded her mind... visions. They rushed past, as vivid as if it were happening right there in front of her eyes... ever detail; as real as you or I... but so fast... so...  
Abel... Abel held a large machete in both hands... Abel pushed open the door to (Gabby and) his parent's bed room... Abel stepped inside and walked up to the side of the bed... Abel brought the machete down... Abel stabbed his parents... Abel stabbed his parents over and over and over and over again.  
Tears came to Dalila's eyes. That was the vision... Abel stabbing his parents. She lifted her hands from the alter, to stop the vision, and a powerful voice spoke - no, more like shouted: -  
"THE PAST!"  
Dalila touched her hands to the alter again. A new vision filled her sights, just like the last... but not the last at all.  
Abel... again. Abel stood outside, in the middle of the corn field... Abel stood, with children surrounding him... sitting on the ground, surrounding him... So many children; their ages ranged from four to eighteen! Abel was speaking... No, he was preaching... preaching to the children... what was he saying?  
"Tonight is our night! We are His sons and His daughters and tonight is our time to do his bidding! Tonight, we shall strike down those who have done wrong to our lands... the adults! We shall strike down the adults, the heathens, the unbelievers!"  
The children cheered.  
Dalila yanked her hands from the alter again, more tears filling her eyes and streaming down her face. Jacob was right! Jacob was right! But even Jacob didn't know everything... Abel didn't just want to kill his parents, no... and the string of murders that had recently been committed had been committed by the children, had they not? Abel wanted to kill _all the adults in town_! And... he wanted the other children to do it with him.  
The voice shouted again.  
"THE PRESENT!"  
Dalila didn't want to see more... she wouldn't! But then; she felt a strong pair of hands press against her back and shove her, force her, forward... to touch the alter again... to see.  
Abel... Abel... Abel was... Abel was burning! Abel was dying! Abel and the other children... burning, dying, in mortal agony.  
Dalila yanked her arms from the alter so violently she fell back. She didn't care, she couldn't stop crying, she couldn't stand that image for even a moment.  
"THE FUTURE!" the voice said... and said it again... and again... getting quieter each time until it was just a wind like whisper. "The future... the future... the future... the future..."  
Dalila sat up and wiped the tears away from her eyes with both hands. The voice came to her again, but this time, it spoke in a normal tone of voice, and said but one word..:  
"Go."  
  
Evening-  
** D**alila knew exactly what it meant.  
Jumping up to her feet, she ran down the isle as fast as humanly possible, her footsteps thundering in her ears. She crashed through both sets of doors and jumped over the porch steps, taking them all in one leap. Then, stumbling and running at the same time, she eventually caught her balance and ran... ran blindly.  
Running blindly; she really had no idea what she was doing... but what ever it was, she was doing it.  
Suddenly, she heard an odd noise and realized she had crashed right into something... someone.  
They both fell to the ground. The air knocked out of Dalila's lungs; it took her a long moment to recover. When she did, she jerked out straight to see who she had hit.  
"Gabby!" she cried out, jumped up to her feet, and yanked Gabby up by the arm.  
"_What?_" Gabby moaned, looking rather irritated.  
"We have to! We have to go! We have to go now!" Dalila just kept spitting out strings of words like that, franticly.  
"Whoa, whoa, Dal," Gabby set her hands on her best friend's shoulders. "Slow down... you aren't making any since."  
"Gabby, we have to go! We have to go now!"  
"Dal!"  
"If we don't hurry up, Abel's going to die!"  
Silence... Gabby's eyes went wide.  
"Where we going?" Gabby finally spoke. Dalila motioned towards the corn. "Well then lets go, now! Now!"  
And the two girls set off running into the corn field... into the corn field to face Abel and what ever other dangers were waiting for them.  
  
** C**orn.  
It was everywhere.  
Gabby took breaths in gasps, holding on to Dalila's arm for dear life. _ If we don't hurry, Abel's going to die!_  
She shivered and kept running. Her best friend's words repeating over and over in her head like the thuds of her rapid footsteps as the two girls dashed mindlessly through the field.  
_ Abel... Abel... my brother... my little brother...  
You killed our parents...  
What are you doing, now?_  
Soon, a line where the corn ended and a clearing began appeared before the girls. They ran straight through it... but stopped short when they saw it all.  
Abel stood... on a platform, slightly above the other children... and as far as children go; damn near every last one in town was there... even Jacob... everyone... all under his control.  
Everyone except Dalila and Gabby.  
"Gabrielle," Abel called out to them. "Dalila... what a pleasant surprise."  
"Abel," Gabby breathed. "What are you doing? What are you _all_ doing?"  
"We're doing His work," Abel answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Or, at least, we are preparing for it... for tonight. For His night. For _our_ night."  
"Abel!" Dalila spoke, seeming to call him out. The boy turned his gaze to her, his eyes; as black as the middest of midnight.  
"Silence," He thundered... and then his voice drew low, menacing, with that sick and twisted happy taint to it. "... Girls, it is your time to join us... join us in His mission. He Who Walks Behind the Rows sees you innocent, and worthy of His givings. Join him... join us... now."  
Gabby's dark blue eyes fled to Dalila's, vivid with terror. To her surprise; Dalila looked so strong... like she was ready... ready to face Him... as if she had always been preparing for it.  
Dalila nodded, slowly, and Gabby returned the gesture. Looking back to the children, Dalila spoke... and she said: -  
"No."  
"_What?!_" hissed Abel.  
"She said, No," Gabby confirmed "... and she stood for both of us!"  
Abel's features twisted in anger. "Fine!" He bellowed. "Then you shall BOTH die! As the heathens are, you shall be treated. CHILDREN!"  
Gabby's fingers tightened on Dalila's wrist in a panic. "Run!" Dalila barked in a harsh whisper... but it was too late. Jacob was upon Gabby before either girl had any idea... he struck her in the back of the head with a metal baseball bat.  
Dalila screamed. Gabby crumbled, face first, to the ground, a large gash running up her skull where the motor area of the brain would be located. Dalila jumped back, staring at Jacob with eyes wide with terror as he advanced towards her.  
Suddenly; the shriek of sirens filled the air.  
Dalila looked over Jacob's shoulder to see cop cars driving through the fields, right through the corn, towards the clearing. All the children saw them, too.  
"Move! To the tent!" Abel shouted orders at the top of his lungs. Jacob dropped the bat, as all children dropped their weapons and obeyed their leader Abel.  
The children dashed towards the tents at full speed. The cops were still rather far away, but they were sure coming. Dalila felt hope sting her chest... but then; another feeling.  
_ If you don't stop them, save them from themselves... You know what will happen. Death! Death! Can't you smell it?_  
Dalila jerked towards Gabby and fell to her knees and checked for a pulse. She was alive.  
"Gabby, Gabby, wake up," Gabby's eyes fluttered open, slowly, a trickle of blood running down her forehead and, now, down her nose.  
"Huh?" Gabby moaned.  
"You're alright!" Dalila sighed with relief... then felt the feeling sting her chest again. "Come on, we have to go... now!" She grabbed Gabby's arm and forced her up.  
"What... Abel? Where's Abel?" Gabby was a little disoriented - Jacob had given her a damn good knock on the head - but she was coming out of it, now, a little.  
Dalila, throwing one of Gabby's arms around her shoulders to help hold her up, pointed towards the tent.  
Without another word, the girls began to run to the tent... as fast as they could, Gabby tripping a little due to her slowed mental state.  
_ You know what's going to happen. Death! Death! Can't you smell it?_  
Dalila shivered.  
_ Death! Death! Can't you smell it?  
Shut up...  
Death! Death! Death!  
Shut up!  
Can't you smell it?  
SHUT UP!_  
The tent was upon them, now. They dashed in just a moment before the children locked it up. Stopped somewhere left of center; their eyes searched around for Abel.  
"We have to stop him!" Dalila cried, over the roar of children.  
"What's he doing?" Gabby cried, back. "Why did he order the children to run here?"  
Dalila shrugged. "I don't know."  
Something tore through the air... both girls recognized that sound... it was the sound of screaming... horrified screaming. Jerking to look at the source; they found Hattie Soams - little Hattie was a friend of Abel's, they had seen them hanging around together on several occasions; so they knew exactly who she was - screaming and running... running out and from the tent... so scared! So wildly scared.  
"Betrayer!" Abel thundered. The girls turned in his direction, to see him, and forced his words clear over the other noises that polluted the air. "... but it is too late. Light it! LIGHT IT NOW!"  
Gabby mouthed the words _"Light what?"_, Dalila just stood frozen in place with her mouth hanging slightly agar shaking her head _No_, slowly.  
_ Suicide... Death... that's the story, Dalila! Suicide! Death! SUICIDE! DEATH! DEATH! DEATH! DEATH! Now you smell it!_  
The voice in her head laughed... the tent was lit ablaze. Gabby screamed and hugged Dalila tight around the waist. Dalila threw her arms around Gabby; trying to protect her... her best friend... her closest thing to a sibling, a sister.  
The girls continued to scream... their screams of horror soon turning into screams of pain, of agony, as they danced in firey death with the flames... all the children danced with the flames in firey deaths... but their's were willing and their's were not.  
But they all got the same... the tent burned to the ground... with one soul survived; the young girl Hattie Soams... and no one would ever know what really happened that day...  
Or what really happened to Dalila and Gabrielle.  


  
THE END


End file.
